Hello readers, what kind of food critic would I be if I didn’t blog about my latest restaurant adventure? (that’s rhetorical by the way, no answers please) All jokes aside, I have decided to share with you my excellent experience at brunch today. This is a fairly new restaurant, it was my first time there and I was quite impressed. (As the picky or “selective” eater that my faithful readers know I am, it sometimes takes a lot to impress me) Therefore, here is my food critic review:
Uptown Lounge
1578 3rd Avenue
New York NY
4 stars
Brunch can be the most important meal of the day for me, so I was preparing to lower my expectations today, just in case. (I was hoping that this place was not going to choke like A-rod does with the bases loaded, that’s not an insult, it actually happened as I was eating, true story!). At the uptown lounge, you can choose from a wide array of dishes, from omelets to sandwiches to even fish. Your entree is accompanied with your choice of two drinks, alcoholic or not (can you guess which one I chose? Just kidding). The staff was friendly, actually going over the top to accommodate me. I selected the delicious-sounding uptown omelet: filled with ham, mushrooms, onions, and Swiss cheese.
There was no disappointment to be found at this restaurant. The omelet was expertly prepared and the flavors seamlessly blended together to create quite a tasty dish. The zest of the ham, combined with the mushrooms and sweet onions, and mild but flavorful Swiss cheese, were more than enough to satisfy my brunch craving. The better than average bacon, salty but authentic home fries, (both of which I asked for as extra crispy and were served that way), and whole wheat toast on the side only added to my terrific time.
Before I finish my review and make the decision whether or not to recommend a restaurant, I like to end with a few points just so that you are fully informed. First, the brunch costs $16, which might sound pricy to some. However, it does include the two drinks, the staff is very good with helping out with substitutions or changes in your order, and this price is actually reasonable in my opinion compared to what some other restaurants charge. In addition, my review is only based on brunch, I cannot vouch for any other meals at this establishment. Therefore, now that we have that out of the way…..
I would like to wholeheartedly recommend the Uptown Lounge. I hope all of my readers have the chance to check out the brunch for themselves. Until my next food adventure, take care and stay positive!
Dan
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
review: Morton's Steakhouse (the steaks are high)!
Hello and thanks for joining me today in my food critic’s corner. I recently enjoyed a prefix dinner with a good friend of mine at Morton’s steakhouse. I had never dined at this renowned establishment previously, and even though my favorite is steakhouse is the palm steakhouse, I decided to try out the food here which did not disappoint:
Morton’s Steakhouse
551 5th avenuavenuee
New York NY
4.25 stars out of 5 stars
When I walked into this restaurant, I was warmly greeted, and they staff went out of theire way to accommodate my friend and myself. This same quality of service also carried over to our waiter and all other staff employees, which really impressed me. The waiter presented us with several choices, from salmon to lamb to quite a number of steak choicess, which ranged from ribeyerib eye to filet mignon to cirloinsirloin. However, I already knew about the prefix special so I had already selection made up my mind. As part of the prefix, I started with a Caesar salad, which I adjusted to fit my picky nature (not an anchovy fan). The crisp lettuce contrasted the savory Parmesan cheese and the crunchy croutons well and I really liked this salad. After this I chose the small filet mignon steak, which I found to be tender, grilled to perfection, and seasoned just enough to bring out the flavor of the meat. A small crab cake accompanied the steak; it was delicious with succulent crabmeat and was perfectly matched with a few spices. In addition, as if this meal wasn’t great enough, I received a plate of delicious crispy hash browns, made with fresh shredded potatoes. You might think that I was pretty fulfull at this point, and you would be correct. Dessert probably wasn’t necessary after such a large meal, but I still tried it out for a few reasons: 1. It came with the meal, 2. I am a food critic so it is my nature to try out different types of food, and 3. I am admittedly a “chocaholic” so the idea of a chocolate themed dessert intrigued me. I ordered Morton’s hot chocolate cake, (I know, big surprise). I don’t really have accurate words to describe the sinful goodness of this creation, which consisted of a warm and slightly crunchy cake surrounding a hot fudge chocolaty type of filling, it was one of the best desserts I have ever dined on. The vanilla ice cream on the side was really not necessary, I was just happy with the cake and wanted only a long walk afterwards to burn off all of those tasty calories.
As a college student, I would never call this type of a meal “affordable.” However, it was a good deal based on Morton’s regular prices, where a steak can cost, yes, over forty dollars! I would recommend this restaurant 110% to anyone who would like a great meal at a wonderful steakhouse. I can honestly say that I am still a fan of the palm steakhouse, but this meal made me realize that there are other excellent steakhouses, which I plan to try out, here in this, the greatest city in the world. Until next time, thanks for coming with me on my latest food adventure!
Dan
Morton’s Steakhouse
551 5th avenuavenuee
New York NY
4.25 stars out of 5 stars
When I walked into this restaurant, I was warmly greeted, and they staff went out of theire way to accommodate my friend and myself. This same quality of service also carried over to our waiter and all other staff employees, which really impressed me. The waiter presented us with several choices, from salmon to lamb to quite a number of steak choicess, which ranged from ribeyerib eye to filet mignon to cirloinsirloin. However, I already knew about the prefix special so I had already selection made up my mind. As part of the prefix, I started with a Caesar salad, which I adjusted to fit my picky nature (not an anchovy fan). The crisp lettuce contrasted the savory Parmesan cheese and the crunchy croutons well and I really liked this salad. After this I chose the small filet mignon steak, which I found to be tender, grilled to perfection, and seasoned just enough to bring out the flavor of the meat. A small crab cake accompanied the steak; it was delicious with succulent crabmeat and was perfectly matched with a few spices. In addition, as if this meal wasn’t great enough, I received a plate of delicious crispy hash browns, made with fresh shredded potatoes. You might think that I was pretty fulfull at this point, and you would be correct. Dessert probably wasn’t necessary after such a large meal, but I still tried it out for a few reasons: 1. It came with the meal, 2. I am a food critic so it is my nature to try out different types of food, and 3. I am admittedly a “chocaholic” so the idea of a chocolate themed dessert intrigued me. I ordered Morton’s hot chocolate cake, (I know, big surprise). I don’t really have accurate words to describe the sinful goodness of this creation, which consisted of a warm and slightly crunchy cake surrounding a hot fudge chocolaty type of filling, it was one of the best desserts I have ever dined on. The vanilla ice cream on the side was really not necessary, I was just happy with the cake and wanted only a long walk afterwards to burn off all of those tasty calories.
As a college student, I would never call this type of a meal “affordable.” However, it was a good deal based on Morton’s regular prices, where a steak can cost, yes, over forty dollars! I would recommend this restaurant 110% to anyone who would like a great meal at a wonderful steakhouse. I can honestly say that I am still a fan of the palm steakhouse, but this meal made me realize that there are other excellent steakhouses, which I plan to try out, here in this, the greatest city in the world. Until next time, thanks for coming with me on my latest food adventure!
Dan
2010 food awards
Hello everyone, before I dive in to my food reviews, I thought I would take a quick look at some of the best restaurants around, in my opinion of course! (Sorry McDonald’s, you didn’t make the cut this year despite all of your mcnugget goodness and crunchy French fries). I will be referring once in a while to the Zagat’s food guide, in particular their 2010 ratings
I believe that it is time to review my gourmet adventures in a numerical way. The Zagat guide rates their restaurants in three important ways: food, décor, and service.
Now, we all know that only one of those numbers matter. I’m talking, of course, about food! (no offense to fans of service, and décor: I can take it or leave it, as long as the food is top-notch). However, I strive to be as official as possible, so the following list contains all three ratings:
(All of these restaurant ratings are out of a maximum of 30 points, and they rarely get beyond 27 or 28).
Restaurant name: food décor service
The winner for barbecue food (envelope please): dinosaur's (One of the top two barbecue restaurants in New York City, my apologies to Blue Smoke, you are number two): 22 15 17
The winner for Italian food (although this restaurant technically serves Roman food: sandro's (scrumptious cuisine featuring an incredible bucatini amatriciana): 25 15 20
Best hamburger (readers of my blind blog should not be surprised by this): primehouse (Go for the outstanding brunch, they use a combination of rib eye and ground beef in their burgers and don’t forget to try the steakhouse burger with sautéed mushrooms and onions): 24 23 23
Honorable mention: union square café (On one hand it’s a bit touristy, and is one of the most popular restaurants in the city, but has a very nice hamburger and fried (I know) calamari): 27 23 26
Winner of best paella: socarrat (I am proud to be one of the first bloggers to write about this outstanding Spanish restaurant, their paella is only ahead of Malaga’s by a little, long waits so get there early and enjoy!): 24 17 20
Winner for best muscles: flex mussels (A fabulous restaurant offering big mussels with 23 different sauces, by the way, if you don’t like mussels maybe this is not the right restaurant for you): 22 17 19
Winner for best pizza (I’m sure I will get in trouble for saying this):lucali's (This excellent restaurant is top two for pizza just ahead of Difara’s, great calzone!): 26 16 19
I feel extremely fortunate to have tried out the excellent cuisine from all of these establishments, in my quest to find the best in every category of food. I guess that readers of my blind blog can finally understand why I am always complaining about the scale and how much I weigh! (Don’t worry, it’s actually alright, I am on a health kick and plan to continuously work out until I work off all of the bad calories).
I want to thank all of my readers for this opportunity, thanks to my great family, outstanding friends, and anyone who is reading my blog.
Dan
I believe that it is time to review my gourmet adventures in a numerical way. The Zagat guide rates their restaurants in three important ways: food, décor, and service.
Now, we all know that only one of those numbers matter. I’m talking, of course, about food! (no offense to fans of service, and décor: I can take it or leave it, as long as the food is top-notch). However, I strive to be as official as possible, so the following list contains all three ratings:
(All of these restaurant ratings are out of a maximum of 30 points, and they rarely get beyond 27 or 28).
Restaurant name: food décor service
The winner for barbecue food (envelope please): dinosaur's (One of the top two barbecue restaurants in New York City, my apologies to Blue Smoke, you are number two): 22 15 17
The winner for Italian food (although this restaurant technically serves Roman food: sandro's (scrumptious cuisine featuring an incredible bucatini amatriciana): 25 15 20
Best hamburger (readers of my blind blog should not be surprised by this): primehouse (Go for the outstanding brunch, they use a combination of rib eye and ground beef in their burgers and don’t forget to try the steakhouse burger with sautéed mushrooms and onions): 24 23 23
Honorable mention: union square café (On one hand it’s a bit touristy, and is one of the most popular restaurants in the city, but has a very nice hamburger and fried (I know) calamari): 27 23 26
Winner of best paella: socarrat (I am proud to be one of the first bloggers to write about this outstanding Spanish restaurant, their paella is only ahead of Malaga’s by a little, long waits so get there early and enjoy!): 24 17 20
Winner for best muscles: flex mussels (A fabulous restaurant offering big mussels with 23 different sauces, by the way, if you don’t like mussels maybe this is not the right restaurant for you): 22 17 19
Winner for best pizza (I’m sure I will get in trouble for saying this):lucali's (This excellent restaurant is top two for pizza just ahead of Difara’s, great calzone!): 26 16 19
I feel extremely fortunate to have tried out the excellent cuisine from all of these establishments, in my quest to find the best in every category of food. I guess that readers of my blind blog can finally understand why I am always complaining about the scale and how much I weigh! (Don’t worry, it’s actually alright, I am on a health kick and plan to continuously work out until I work off all of the bad calories).
I want to thank all of my readers for this opportunity, thanks to my great family, outstanding friends, and anyone who is reading my blog.
Dan
your food critic is here!
Hi world, I started this blog a long time ago in the hope that one day I would be able to write simply a food critic blog: filled with many different restaurant reviews! The day is here, welcome to food critic NYC! Today I will be uploading a few blogs to start out with, and please keep those comments coming in so that I know what kind of restaurants you would like me to review next. Thanks for stopping by!
Dan the food critic man
Dan the food critic man
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Lukali's 01/10/2009 4.25/5 stars
Welcome!
My first review!
Ok, before I get into this, I would like to introduce myself:
My name is Dan and I am an aspiring food critic. I happen to be totally blind, but I am "normal" and very independent. In fact, my first food critic review is from a restaurant located in Brooklyn; I took three subways just to get there!
Please leave me your feedback in the comments section, I am serious about this and I wish to be a real food critic someday, maybe for The New York Times or for a reputable magazine.
So, without any further delay, here is my first food critic review:
Lucali's
573 Henry St.
Brooklyn, Ny
Rating: 4.25 stars (out of 5)
I traveled through the snow to try Lucali's with four of my friends last night. I was initially worried because of all the hype regarding this restaurant;
after all it was the number one pizza restaurant in this year's Zagat survey with a rating of 27/30. However, Lucali's did not disappoint. The ambiance
was of a much higher quality than in most pizza establishments. Our waitress was quite helpful and she explained our choices in terms of pizza and toppings.
I am personally a fan of mushroom pizza, and when it arrived at our table, a mere 25 minutes later, I was impressed. It started out with a thin crust,
and very light as far as pizza is concerned. The crust was extremely crispy and melts in your mouth. Lucali's uses a very nice mix of cheese on the pizza
which tasted fresh and flavorful. In addition, the sauce had a great flavor with just the right amount of spices and tomatoes. Overall, I really enjoyed
this experience. I have been to a few of the city's best pizza restaurants, and this is comparable with any of them. I had a great time and I would really
like to return.
Dan
My first review!
Ok, before I get into this, I would like to introduce myself:
My name is Dan and I am an aspiring food critic. I happen to be totally blind, but I am "normal" and very independent. In fact, my first food critic review is from a restaurant located in Brooklyn; I took three subways just to get there!
Please leave me your feedback in the comments section, I am serious about this and I wish to be a real food critic someday, maybe for The New York Times or for a reputable magazine.
So, without any further delay, here is my first food critic review:
Lucali's
573 Henry St.
Brooklyn, Ny
Rating: 4.25 stars (out of 5)
I traveled through the snow to try Lucali's with four of my friends last night. I was initially worried because of all the hype regarding this restaurant;
after all it was the number one pizza restaurant in this year's Zagat survey with a rating of 27/30. However, Lucali's did not disappoint. The ambiance
was of a much higher quality than in most pizza establishments. Our waitress was quite helpful and she explained our choices in terms of pizza and toppings.
I am personally a fan of mushroom pizza, and when it arrived at our table, a mere 25 minutes later, I was impressed. It started out with a thin crust,
and very light as far as pizza is concerned. The crust was extremely crispy and melts in your mouth. Lucali's uses a very nice mix of cheese on the pizza
which tasted fresh and flavorful. In addition, the sauce had a great flavor with just the right amount of spices and tomatoes. Overall, I really enjoyed
this experience. I have been to a few of the city's best pizza restaurants, and this is comparable with any of them. I had a great time and I would really
like to return.
Dan
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